Rockford Hells Angels clubhouse listed; no bites yet

The city condemned the building at Morgan and Rock streets south of downtown in July 2013, when 14 people were arrested in connection with an alleged beating at the clubhouse.

Charges against members included aggravated battery, armed robbery and kidnapping. The Winnebago County State’s Attorney’s Office says the defendants are scheduled for a pretrial conference Aug. 20 before Chief Judge Joseph McGraw.

The clubhouse has been on the market for about three months. The “for sale” sign was moved recently to a fence along Morgan Street, where it is more visible to traffic.

But so far, neither the site’s notoriety nor the sign’s improved visibility has attracted a serious offer.

“I did have one party that thought they wanted to open a restaurant, but there would be a long way to go because of all of the code violations,” said Brad Benedict of Gambino Realtors, the listing agent.

Benedict said he is working with a seller who declined to be interviewed for this story.

The city cited mechanical, electrical and plumbing code violations when it condemned the building. It also said the use of the facility as a club with sleeping units and cooking and beverage service was not approved. The building was zoned for professional office use, not for a club or lodge.

Tax records show the owner as HAMC INC., the corporate name for Hells Angels Motorcycle Corp. Records with the Secretary of State’s Office show that on Jan. 24 the local club changed its name from Hells Angels Rockford to HAMC Rockford Inc.

The properties at 1109-1113 Rock St. are listed by Gambino as an “assembly/meeting place” with a 7,000-square-foot building and 15,000 square feet of gross land area. It is protected by a chain-link fence and comes with a custom “Hells Angels Rockford” mural on a cement wall featuring the club’s skull and wing logo.

The brick building in the Church + Robertsons Addition was built in 1930, according to the Rockford Township Assessor’s Office.

The assessor’s office says the building, which it has listed as a social club, and the adjacent lot have a fair market value of $45,660.

One neighborhood leader thinks the property would be more valuable converted to a parking lot.

Rudy Valdez, vice president of the nonprofit South West Ideas for Today and Tomorrow, says the new $40 million Morgan Street bridge and the $30 million rebuilding of South Main Street from the U.S. 20 bypass to Cedar Street are foundations for change in the neighborhood.

“A restaurant would be good,” said Valdez, “but the building needs a lot of work. There are other buildings a restaurant could go into that don’t need as much work.”

Valdez said there’s talk of a Sunday ethnic market in the neighborhood that would bring visitors to the area. And a proposed whitewater rafting course along the Rock River would also generate traffic. Although neither project has materialized yet, Valdez thinks the property should go from a place for bikes to a place for cars.

“We’re still working on the details,” he said, “but we’re going to need more parking.”